By Carol Winkler

    After the romance of Camelot, the nostalgia of Forever Plaid and the exotic-ness of The King and I, Cayman Drama Society members are expanding their experience and exposing local audiences to another development in the history of Broadway musicals.
    Side by Side by Sondheim opens next Thursday at the Prospect Playhouse. Director Chris Bowring describes it as more of a show than a play, since its focus is on individual songs rather than a plot with songs to help develop it.
    But the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim frequently turn songs almost into one-act plays, as the show's narrator (Alastair Paterson) explains. Some sets comment on a theme or explore a certain style. Structure also comes from the narrator himself, who provides bits of theatre lore, backstage gossip and topical humour to link the songs.
    Some of that humour, incidentally, is adults only. A similar label applies to some of the lyrics. This is not a children's show, either in form or content.
    From Sondheim's considerable catalogue of credits, 25 songs have been selected. For whatever reason, there's nothing from his best known work, West Side Story: Is everyone tired of "Tonight" and "Maria"?
    On the other hand, there are audience favourites ranging from a pensive "Send in the Clowns" (A Little Night Music) to the raucous "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" (Gypsy). A good portion of the show, however, deals with less well-known numbers demonstrating both undeniable skills and willingness to experiment. Sondheim after all, wrote both words and music after collaboration with such luminaries as Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers and Jule Styne. His songs can be a challenge to both performer and listener.
    Providing voices and energy equal to the task on stage are people who have had their share of standing ovations locally: Wendy Moore, Kevin Redfern and Neil Rooney. They are joined by equally talented recent arrivals Jane Maisey and Kristi Mitchel.
    Wendy, Kevin and Neil, of course, are remembered for their roles in the soul-wrenching triangle involving Queen Guenevere, Sir Lancelot and King Arthur in Camelot. Neil and Kevin later formed half of the quartet in Forever Plaid, which saluted the harminies of the 1950s.
    Jane, who appeared in pantomimes and Shakespearean productions in England, is on secondment to the Royal Cayman Islands Police, arriving just in time to take part in The King and I. Kristi makes her Cayman debut, coming here as a teacher. Her previous roles include the lead in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
    Providing the exceptionally difficult accompaniment are two pianists who can certainly be considered pros, regardless of their day job. The criterion is simply to ask, how many musicals have there been lately without Chris Bowring or Kate Moore?
    Linda Rayner is in charge of choreography and staging. Julie Tromans is producer.
    Side by Side by Sondheim is scheduled to run Thursday through Saturday, 22-24 April then Thursdays through Sundays until 9 May. Curtain as always is 7.30pm.

(Reproduced with the kind permission of The Caymanian Compass)

By Derek Haines

    Cayman Drama Society has done it again! Following the huge musical successes of Forever Plaid and The King and I, it was difficult to believe that it would be possible for the Society to offer anything as good so quickly.
    Not so. The near capacity audience at the Prospect Playhouse last Friday night was treated to a musical extravaganza that had people tapping their feet from the opening full-cast number "Comedy Tonight" to the closing "Side by Side".
    As the title Side by Side by Songheim suggests, all of the songs are by Stephen Sondheim and the cast of Wendy Moore, Kristi Mitchell, Jane Maisey, Kevin Redfern and Neill Rooney deliver them with skill and obvious enjoyment.
    Pianists Chris Bowring (also musical director) and Katie Moore complete the musical ensemble, with difficult piano duets made easy. The numbers flow from the comical to the poignant, to the amusing and risque, "Can That Boy Foxtrot".The informative and witty narrative is delivered by Alastair Paterson.
    Linda Rayner's unfussy choreography, the mood created by the lighting over the superb New York City silhouette complete the effect, transporting the audience to Broadway itself. The best $15 value for a night out in Cayman.
    As word spreads, full houses are assured. Performances are this weekend and the next, Thursday through Sunday. But it would come as no surprise if demand called for extra showings.

(Reproduced with the kind permission of The Caymanian Compass)

Sounding a dissonant note - Continued from column 3

    Another example: Decades ago Judy Garland won hearts with her story of "The Man That Got Away". Sondheim takes the same situation and turns it into a case of clinical depression. "Losing My Mind" is a dramatic ballad saved from bathos by Jane Maisey. Only a singer totally in control can portray a woman so completely falling apart.
    Did Sonheim study psychology? Or did he have a dictionary of mental illnesses by his side when he wrote the tongue-in-cheek "You Could Drive A Person Crazy"? I wish the narration told me more about the man.
    Before I read Mr. Haines' review, I did not realise that "Foxtrot" was risque. The song I objected to was "I Never DO Anything Twice". After thinking it over, however, I have concluded that, with a different introduction, it could serve as a valuable lesson.
    It's easy to see why Wendy Moore would enjoy singing it and audiences would respond so enthusiastically. The rhyming is clever; the refrain is memorable in the manner of the old music hall sing-along numbers. The narrator does tell us this one was written for the movie The Seven Per Cent Solution, to be sung by the madam of a brothel in Vienna at the turn of the century.
    Songs can be written on just about any subject (Sondheim also wrote Sweeney Todd, remember, a musical about the London barber who slit customers' throats) so why should he not write about decadence in a certain segment of society? The obvious lesson must be that, however attractive a package, the consumer can choose to accept or reject its contents.
    About 30 column inches ago, I commented on Mr. Haines succinctness. Look what he did to me with just one sentence. Now I have to track down a Stephen Sondheim biography, plus rent a movie so I can judge for myself the context in which the brothel madam presents her song. Most importantly, I will have to see Side by Side by Sondheim again and check up on what Alastair has done to the script.

(Reproduced with the kind permission of The Caymanian Compass)

By Carol Winkler

    Guest reviewer Derek Haines is well qualified to pass judgement on musical entertainments. This is so partlt because he is married to Mrs. Haines, who possesses one of the best trained singing voices in these Islands. He is also qualified by virtue of his daytime job, which demands scrutiny of details in order to reach decisions.
   Compliments from Mr. Haines, therefore, will no doubt be much appreciated by the cast and crew of Side by Side by Sondheim. His succinct comments should also carry weight with interested readers.
    As an ordinary theatre-goer with no qualifications, I will respectfully adopt the reviewer's submissions - with one exception.
    He is certainly correct when he points out how the difficult accompaniments are made to sound easy by Chris Bowring and Katie Moore. One pianist goes in one direction, the other in another, while the singer is usually carrying the melody alone. Sondheim makes all the parts come together, but if they were not properly executed nothing would work. For me, outstanding examples include "I Remember" by Neill Rooney, "Broadway Baby" by Jane Maisey and "I'm Still Here" by Wendy Moore.
    I also agree that the performers are talented singers who convey their own enjoyment to an audience. Many of the songs are truly funny because of the scenario they create or the wordplay they employ. Kristi Mitchell, for example, wins prolonged applause for her wistful "Send In The Clowns". But, at least on opening night, the crowd whistled and cheered for "The Boy From..." which she delivered with self-deprecating humour.
    The point on which I have to disagree is Mr. Haines' reference to the "informative and witty narration" delivered by Alastair Paterson.
    I say that the narration introducing or linking the songs did not tell me what I wanted to know. Neither did I find it particularly amusing. Indeed, one of the better lines was during an early rehearsal when Alastair looked up from his script and asked, "Who wrote this drivel?".
    It may well be that Alastair has continued to ad lib and play to his audiences as he has at innumerable charity auctions or fund-raising functions. If so, anything he has done is probably an improvement over the original.
    The script does tell us that Stephen Sondheim has favourite themes - one of which is relationships, especially marriage. So I want to know: Has he ever been married? Happily? Or is he simply an astute observer of couples around him?
    "The Little Things You Do Together" catalogues some of the attitudes and activities which couples tend to share - or disagree about - after X amount of time together. How old was Sondheim when he wrote it? The narrative tells us only the name of the show the song is from, not the year the show opened.
    Another song gives a completely different perspective on marriage. The title "Could I Leave You" from Follies sounds vaguely like "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Camelot. But the only thing they have in common on this planet is that they were both written in the English language.
    After an evening of Sondheim lyrics I realise that songs about love in traditional musicals have tended to be romantic, in the sense of emphasising emotions. Sondheim takes an approach that could almost be called psychoanalytical.
   So when the singer rhetorically asks his spouse, "Could I Leave You?" he starts by reminiscing about what the couple has shared and then, before he or the audience is aware of it, goes on to expose wounds rubbed raw by the relationship. Kevin Redfern masterfully builds the tension of this song/story.

(Continued in center column)